It's not often that I wish people who I've written about could meet one another. But every time I talked to Margarita Torres about her missing son, I thought about Janice Smolinski, another mom whose son vanished.

Smolinski is pushing for legislation, named after her son, for a number of improvements for families searching for loved ones, including streamlining the reporting process and a comprehensive database.

If Smolinski's story about dismissive authorities who figured her grown son would eventually show up isn't reason enough for those improvements, Torres' tale certainly is a reminder.

As I wrote in Sunday's column, police and mental health officals aren't exactly knocking themselves out looking for Torres' son, Aaron.

Aaron Torres walked away March 17 from the Connecticut Valley Hospital during a supervised break. No one has seen or heard from him since.

When I called Smolinski to tell her about Torres, she listened intently to an all too familiar story about a mother in despair and a system that doesn't take the disappearance of adults seriously enough. After I was done, she was silent for a moment.

"That's just horrible," she said, finally. "Every moment that passes is precious lost time."

She's right about that, which is why I passed Smolinski's contact information to Torres.

If no one else will help these mothers, maybe the mothers will help each other.

Anyone with information about Torres should contact Middletown Police at 860-344-3200 or CVH at 860-262-5555.